Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh Celebrates their 50th House Dedication

Habitat for Humanity is a household name in community service. The Greater Newburgh Chapter just celebrated the dedication of their 50th property at 65 Courtney in Newburgh on November 20th. Board Members, project affiliates, volunteers and the Knight family joined an excited public for a tour of the property and a backyard reception.

Shown: House recipients Renee, LaRon, Reniya, Reon and Ralontae Knight gave thanks to all and rejoiced in the prospect of home ownership.

Founding members Bill Murphy and Al Favata joined chapter President Maureen Crush, Executive Director Cathy Collins and Deirdre Glenn (former Executive Director to whom the house was dedicated) in shaking hands and exchanging smiles. Seeing a project completed is a fulfilling and rewarding part of the volunteering process.

The sun was shining and skies were blue over the landmark dedication. It was a proud moment for everyone who has invested in the project as a whole over the last 12 years. Many hands created lighter work at 65 Courtney, many more have seen the organization evolve over time and been a part of it's progress.

Michelle Bond arrived from Baltimore for the dedication. The Americorp Vista and Returned Peace Corp Volunteer was a site coordinator for the organization from 2002-2004. Her return is a testament to the legacy of the project. She tells me that the success of habitat isn’t only the houses, but the sense of community that is inherent to the volunteer network. Thousands of volunteers and countless organizations send in teams of people on volunteer days to give their time and energy to the project. It could mean painting trim work, sorting items in the restore or putting up walls - any number of things pertaining to complete restructure of the property.

Cornwall Highschool Students Trade their Saturday in for the Cause

The homes are beautiful. No detail is overlooked. Everything that can be salvaged is re-used. The design is perfected right down to the color of the walls. At 65 Courtney Bamboo wood floors on the ground level give way to original woodwork on the staircase – volunteers spent over 200 hours stripping the wood to it’s original condition.

This Original Wood Staircase is a Labor Of Love

Bay windows and an open kitchen shower the house in natural light, creating a tranquil space. Under the guidelines of the project recipient families are required to invest 250 hours of sweat-equity themselves, some of which goes towards the builds of other properties.

warm tones in the kitchen make for an even more delicious family meal

Founding members Bill Murphy and Al Favata are celebrating the grand vision the last 12 years have brought to the chapter. Their glory seems to be the ambitious nature of the project—50 houses in 12 years is no small task—and the fact that many of the volunteers have been working with the project since inception. The goal is to do the next 50 houses in five years. “With all of your help, we’ll get there.” Bill Murphy said in a speech.

Founding Chapter member Al Favata

With well wishes for many years of happy memories the crowd disbanded from the barricades of Courtney, leaving with a sense of contentment for all things accomplished. Relish in the fact that ours is a community that pulls together magnificently to deliver on the promise of 'truly cares'. Article by : Stefanie Pearl Photographs by : Jon Valle